WeHelpWomen.com is national online resource for women in transition. “In transmission” can mean a variety of things: job search, career change, starting a new business, divorce, financial struggles and more. The non-profit behind the website, Fresh Start Women’s Foundation, is located in Phoenix and has been around for about two decades, helping more than 200,000 women in transition.

Once you sign up for membership, I would suggest taking their free assessment questionnaire to match your needs with the appropriate courses for your state of transition. The questionnaire took no more then 30 seconds or so to complete and once you are finished you get a list of courses suited to your answers. You can then decide which ones to take first based on the brief description. The course times range from 5 to 30 minutes, a small time allotment especially if you are stay at home mom to young ones like myself.

Based on the courses listed for me after taking the assessment I decided to take How to Live Rich on a Small Budget, Getting out of Debt (both from the Finance Program) and Me Inc. (from the Personal Development program) for the purposes of this review.

How to Live Rich on a Small Budget (Taught by Leah Hoffman, Managing Director at Robert W. Baird & Co.)

Living a truly “rich” life goes far beyond financial wealth. Some of life’s most satisfying things require little or no money. By deliberately structuring your lifestyle and making choices that support your most important values, it’s possible to be extremely happy even when living within a tight budget.

This course was a great reminder to me that while it is important to have and stick to a budget, it is also important to leave room in the budget for the fun stuff of life. She asks us to re-evaluate our priorities and brainstorm what makes you happy because cutting out the things you enjoy can make you less satisfied and even increase stress! While I “knew” that it was a good reminder that I shouldn’t be the one to give up everything for the good of the family budget. She gives four great tips on how you can live richly while sticking to your budget. While I do most of things I don’t always follow through on them and find myself reverting back to the old way of things. She stresses how important it is to involve the whole family  in the budget process so that other can make sacrifices and understand that everyone has to sacrifice for the good od the family. I actually took a lot away from this 10 minute course.

Getting out of Debt (Taught by Susan Stalteri, Founder & President of My Money Place and Kate Nason, Finanace Manager at Intel Corporation)

During tough economic times, overwhelming debt can be as common as it is soul-crushing. Fortunately, there are proven processes for digging oneself out of debt. With a little planning and some focused effort, it’s easier than most people realize to eliminate or substantially reduce their debt. In this course, you’ll learn about the different types of debt, how to understand your net worth, how to determine your credit worthiness, and how to develop your plan for becoming debt free.

This course was really more of a refresher for me. Before I had kids and decided to be a stay at home mom while they are young I was an accountant so the principles of getting out of debt are not foreign to me. That doesn’t however mean that I don’t fall into the same financial traps that a lot of do. So basically it was a good reminder and if you don’t know how to handle your mounting debt this is a great short video (10 minutes) to get you on the right to track to financial freedom. Three key things to remember are to know your net worth, get and keep on top of your credit score and to make an action plan and stick to it. It can save you interest and knock years off your payments!

Me Inc. (Taught by Noelle Hadley a Culture Coach)

Who are you? What do you want? How will you get there? Do you have a plan? If you don’t have ready answers for all of these questions, this powerful course is for you. In fact, you’ll want to retake it every six months, as it not only helps you architect your life plan, but it also keeps you motivated and accountable every step of the way. We recommend that all members take this course, and take it first because it will help provide direction, clarity and focus as you progress through all of your Fresh Start courses.

This course is all about you and how you can get control of your life and start living the life you’ve dreamed of. It’s about taking ownership of yourself and determining what you can do to get what you want out of life. The course takes you through a five step process where you determine what’s important to you (your core values), what’s your purpose in life (your mission), what are your dreams (your vision), what are your goals (determined by your values, mission and vision) and what steps do you need to take to make these goals a reality. As you progress through the course there are printables for you to fill out to help you get to that final step which is determining the actions you need to take to complete your goals and become the person you want to be.

My Thoughts:

I personally believe that this would be a great site and resource for women who are beginning a new transition in life. There are many resources laid out to help you to reach your financial, personal or professional goals. And with the help of their thorough yet very short courses I’m sure each person who takes them will either be refreshed or enlightened with new information to help them through their current transition phase. The courses are great reminders that you can help yourself with the right tools available. If you aren’t willing to help yourself there likely isn’t anyone who is going to step in and do it!

Here is some more helpful information about the site:

* membership for website began end of March 2011

* includes interactive, one-of-a-kind e-learning courses presented by women for women on career, finance and personal development

* Women learn how to create their own side business utilizing modern-day tools, how to live rich on a small budget, network their way to a job and more.

*Also includes special offers on things like books, eyeglasses and cosmetics.

*Katie Couric showed her support of the website as well: http://www.wehelpwomen.com/press-and-media!

*Social media channels:

www.twitter.com/wehelpwomen

www.facebook.com/wehelpwomen

www.youtube.com/freshstartcommunity

http://www.slideshare.net/freshstartcommunity

You can purchase an annual membership for $59.99 or pay monthly for $5.99. Membership includes: all courses, exclusive special offers/discounts on a wide range of products and services

*DISCLAIMER: I was given a  30 day membership to WeHelpWomen.com to help facilitate my review. Any opinions stated are strictly my own.*